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ZooNooz Article - December 2003
Mating Marathon
Consummation capers for Northern Quolls can last all day. A most impressed KEN DE LA MOTTE reports.
Photograph Robert Dockerill
Northern Quolls are carnivorous
marsupials, speedy little hunters
that look rather like sharp-nosed,
long-tailed, elongated Guinea Pigs.
Once quite common in the Northern
Territory, they are now being wiped
out at an alarming rate by ubiquitous
Cane Toads which make tasty - but
toxic - meals.
Quolls |
A regional breeding program, in
which Taronga Zoo participates, has
been established to try to build up
Northern Quoll numbers. Recently
a male and a female arrived in
the Nocturnal House, fresh from
Territory Wildlife Park, to do their bit
for the survival of their species.
The two animals were kept
separate until the female was
thoroughly familiar with her new
home - a complex exhibit landscaped
with tall branches, bushes, rocks,
hollow logs and nest-boxes. Then the
male was introduced.
Vigorous chasing bouts ensued
and the female showed him who
was boss by presenting a glistening
row of dagger-sharp teeth. But faint
heart never won fair lady, and
the male persisted, grabbing
her firmly by the scruff of
the neck and holding her
until the introduction
was successfully
consummated.
Frenetic mating sessions can be the death of most male quolls in some regions where, after several weeks of capricious copulation with a number of females, all the quoll blokes drop dead.
The mating game for Northern
Quolls is not just a matter of
transferring vital biological
information from a male to a
female as quickly as possible. Once
the union is achieved, it seems the
male doesn't know when to stop - a coupling can go on for as long
as 24 hours! Taronga's pair began
mating at 11am and were still
at it at 4pm when the exhausted
keepers left for home.
These prolonged couplings
may also serve another important
function. By mating through much
of the female's oestrous cycle, the
male can be fairly certain that he
won't be cuckolded by another
suitor. This is a lot less expensive
than lining up for a DNA paternity
test and is perhaps a whole lot
more fun (for the male at least).
Frenetic mating sessions can
be the death of most male quolls in
some regions where,
after several weeks of capricious
copulation with a number of
females, all the quoll blokes drop
dead. Going out in a blaze of
glory like this ensures that there
are ample resources left for mum
and the kids - paying future childsupport
with your life may be tough,
but it's also practical.
Keepers are now waiting
with bated breath for up to eight
"quollettes" to appear in the
female's pouch. Twice as many
young can be born than there are
available teats, and these little
jelly beans with legs make a mad
scramble from the birth canal to
a rudimentary pouch to get to the
milk bar. If it is full when a joey
arrives, then its short life is over
and it's destined to become part of
the leaf-litter or part of mum's next
meal (waste not, want not!). Joeys
suckle for five months and, like
dad, they don't let go easily - some
have been known to suckle on a
stretched teat while riding on the
long-suffering mother's back.
So if you have visited the
Nocturnal House lately and not
seen the Northern Quolls, it's
probably because they are
catching up on some long
overdue sleep.
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